1. Field
Provided are polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) apparatuses, and more particularly, a PCR apparatus including a unit for providing a close contact between a PCR chip and a thermal control element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) technology for amplifying a certain region of deoxyribonucleic acid (“DNA”) or ribonucleic acid (“RNA”) in a reaction container is widely used not only in fields of genetic engineering and life science, but also in medical fields for diagnosing diseases. In order to efficiently perform PCR, it is essential to quickly and accurately adjust a temperature of a gene sample to be amplified, to a target temperature.
A PCR apparatus includes a thermal control element for heating and cooling a sample solution in a reaction chamber of a PCR chip in which PCR occurs. The PCR chip can be heated and cooled by the thermal control element in the form of conduction and, in order to efficiently transfer thermal energy between the PCR chip and the thermal control element, both of the PCR chip and the thermal control element should be closely contacted with each other.
When the PCR chip and the thermal control element are closely contacted with each other, the PCR chip or a contact part of the thermal control element may be damaged due to strong contact pressure. Specifically, if the PCR chip or the contact part of the thermal control element is composed of silicon which has high thermal diffusivity but is easily deformed to be broken, the PCR chip or the thermal control element may be damaged more severely. Accordingly, a unit for suitably adjusting contact pressure between the PCR chip and the thermal control element is required.